UPDATED: Phil Robertson’s ‘Duck Dynasty’ Return Has TV Industry Abuzz

UPDATE, FRIDAY 6:20 PM: Earlier this week, TV industry sages forecast that if A&E wanted the Robertson family to continue starring in the network’s cash cow Duck Dynasty, after the network put patriarch Phil on indefinite hiatus over incendiary comments he’d made in a GQ interview (the family issued a statement saying they were standing with Phil) the network would have to “eat crow” — and forecast A&E would “do it right after Christmas.”

Which, of course, is exactly what happened! And here’s what the industry is saying about that, via Twitter:

– Thomas Roberts, MSNBC anchor: Just dialing into #DuckDynasty update. Homophobia will not be conquered overnight & certainly not aided by A&E execs.

– Joe Scarborough:As predicted early. Biggest bias in LA is $$$.

– Dan Abrams:But talk about trying to bury the #DuckDynasty news. . after 5p on the Friday before New Years.

– Billy Eichner, creator of Funny Or Die’s Fuse TV game show Billy on the Street: Very excited A&E is resuming Duck Dynasty with Phil Robertson. We need more ignorant homophobic racists who probably hate women on the air.

– Andy Lassner, Ellen exec producer: A&E has lifted its suspension of Phil Robertson. Family & friends are said to be gathering tonight to celebrate inside his beard.

PREVIOUS, TUESDAY, 10:30 AM:Five Things A&E Did Wrong has become the hot parlor game among TV industry execs at holiday get-togethers. Cable news network execs, meanwhile, are giving thanks for the cultural warfare that has erupted, during this traditionally slow news period, over A&E’s decision to suspend Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson for comparing homosexuality to bestiality in a GQ interview even Phil’s family has acknowledged was “coarse.”

A&E has been dazedly dog paddling since the interview came out and its hit show suddenly stopped quacking like all those other homespun reality series on TV and began Bible-thumping like the religious parable it actually is.

In case you’re one of the many who spend the holiday season hiding under a flat rock: A conservative Christian group has hit 210,000 signatures and counting on its petition demanding A&E immediately reinstate Phil, one retailer has reversed its decision to yank Duck Dynasty products off its shelves because of customer blowback, and a big-box retailer can’t keep up with customer demand for Duck Dynasty merchandise. Conservative possible presidential candidates are taking Phil to their bosom, and he invited the Daily Mail to his church on Sunday to witness him preaching: ‘Jesus will take sins away. If you’re a homosexual, he’ll take it away. If you’re an adulterer, if you’re a liar, what’s the difference? If you break one sin, you may as well break them all.”

“A rookie mistake.” That’s how one TV industry veteran who’s put in time dealing with rogue reality stars described A&E’s handling of its Duck Dynasty nightmare.

“It’s very difficult to keep these people in check then they get famous,” the exec noted, in A&E’s defense. Particularly when the star already has amassed a large pile of money making bird-calling devices for hunters, believes he has a religious calling, and isn’t afraid to lose his TV series. A&E is charting new territory, execs with whom we spoke acknowledged. “You’ve got an immovable object who actually believes he has God on his side. He’s a multimillionaire who lives in a swamp!” one industry image specialist acknowledged. “I don’t’ think he gives a flying fuck whether or not [A&E] agrees with him. I don’t think there’s any fear in this guy.” Ditto the rest of the Robertson family, who quickly issued a statement suggesting they will not do the show without Phil.

Our panel of industry execs is still scratching their heads in re why the A&E let Phil Robertson, a guy whose religious beliefs were well known to the network, within 100 yards of a GQ interview.

“Who the hell let them talk to GQ in the first place?” one veteran wondered. “This is their biggest show. Are they going to get a bigger audience by talking to some snarky reporter from GQ? Where is the upside? There is none. Zero.”

Chimed in another: “GQ is not a Duck Dynasty-friendly place, and [A&E] knew they had talent that talks and goes off the reservation. What the fuck you gonna get from GQ? It’s not going to get you a new audience. Then they left him alone with the reporter.” (A&E had a rep on site, but the reporter nonetheless managed to squeeze in some alone time with Phil, during which he cut loose, according to media reports).

Robertson, on the other hand, is guilty only of consistent behavior. “He has not flinched. He’s very consistent in his opinion. He has gone off [A&E’s] script, but he’s perfectly on-script for him,” said one TV exec. “There was some sincerity to the show – unless it was all bullshit. Turns out, it wasn’t.”

In addition to Know Your Star, execs we spoke with said the basic tenets of Surviving Reality TV Series Hits also include Know Your Show, Know Your Audience — and, last but not least, Get Out Of Your Own Way (aka, Hollywood and New York Are Not the Norm in the Country).

A&E does not appear to have done well on these other points either, according to our experts.

Duck Dynasty isn’t just another of the homespun reality TV shows about swamp people, trailer park people, pickers, hoarders, storage-locker openers, and coupon clippers that litter the TV landscape these days – it’s a religious parable, our pundits noted. “This is a show where, somewhere in every episode they’re saying grace,” noted one. “These people have a certain genuineness to them, even if they did agree to do a reality show.”

Meanwhile, as A&E has learned during the past few days, if it didn’t know it already, a vocal chunk of the show’s audience subscribes to Robertson’s views on the Bible, Christianity, and homosexuality. Putting a show’s star on “hiatus” during the show’s hiatus, and with the next run of 10 Phil-featuring episodes already in the can might have seemed utterly logical from inside the industry, and the jaded press gave the network points for a move that looked like doing something while actually doing not much — and certainly no damage to the franchise. But, to Duck Dynasty’s religious followers, it was a battle cry.

Said one exec, “Their statement … should have been simply along the lines of, ‘The opinion stated by Phil is his opinion only; it’s not the opinion of A&E’ — and let it go.”

Added another: “Gay groups and others can come after [the network], but that’s a lot better to deal with than to have the stars of your [hit] show want to take it elsewhere for not supporting them.”

Ironically, A&E’s Duck Dynasty holiday marathon, with episodes that feature Phil, has not placated Phil’s fans. Weirdly, it’s enraged them and caused them to accuse A&E of a) hypocrisy and b) putting business ahead of principles. That’s a bit thick. Industry execs, on the flip side, commend A&E for staying the course on the marathon.

“Someone’s going to have to back down,” said one industry vet, predicting it’s not going to be the Robertsons. “Either [A+E Networks CEO] Nancy [Dubuc] says, ‘This is not the position of the network and we respect Phil’s religious beliefs,’ and we all move on from there, or I don’t think the show survives on A&E,” the source continued.

“They’re going to have to apologize,” agreed another. “If they want them back, they’re going to have to eat crow. They’ll probably do it right after Christmas. Look for a note sometime over the next week and a half.”

508 Comments

AC • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I’m sorry… you open a hillbilly can of worms; look into a world that is probably best left to a small and local sampling, and you unleash unpredictability and the kind of chaos that can damage the bottom line in profound ways. Call it a rookie mistake, or simply call it an uncontrolled and voracious appetite for something, anything, that can rate! I feel like it’s time to pull back on the train wrecks, repurpose monies and create a new financing paradigm for scripted programming that can elevate our discourse and leave a marker for the times we live that is less base and more hopeful. Happy holidays to you all…

KDJ • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Stop making sense, someone may hear you.

Mj • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Sense? That made no sense. A lot of industry jargon gobbledygook. Speak plain, man.

ButIDigress • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You’re right. That didn’t make sense.

Barry O • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I understood it. Let me be clear: We need to pivot away from that which causes strife, namely white people and Christians, and we need to pivot towards those that despise white people and Christians. Then we need to pivot to the financial situations of those evil white Christians and redirect the paradigm to those in dire need of getting up off a couch.

Robert Mitley • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Your understanding is exactly correct.

jim • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Perfect!!!

Dianne • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Most excellent translation – thank you!

Facts Not Fox • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“getting up off the couch.” You mean like people who watch Duck Dynasty? I expect that sort of ignorance from people who defend a man who says he “didn’t see no mistreatment of black people” during segregation? “Didn’t see” or couldn’t care less, Phil?

Bob K. • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Exactly, I had no clue what he said.

Dantes • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

He means, he has a script for a television show nobody wants to buy.

AWS • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Manhattan and LA got worked up into a tizzy. The rest of us, flyover country, stand with Phil.

And yes, that OP was full of industry speak and left coast platitudes. A “marker for the time we live in”? Like what? Some liberal show with a poor ratings book? (30 Rock) The show had more awards nods than it had viewers…

Here’s a new paradigm – accept that we’re still a majority Christian nation and gays make up less than 2% of the population. Put that in you script and smoke it.

CynicalCritic • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

There may still be a Christian majority in this nation but, if you think the LGBT population in America is less than 2%, maybe you should stop smoking whatever it is you’re smoking.

According to a Gallup report published in October 2012 by the Williams Institute, 3.4% of US adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Now, the Gallup report only reflects those that “identify” themselves as members of the LGBT community.

Perhaps, before you start throwing around percentages, you should look around your own community. How well do you really think you know your brothers; your sisters; your neighbors; your children; your parents; your grandparents; your cousins; your fellow churchgoers; etc.?

Anonymous • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

LOL, trust me, it was the conservatives who were in the “tizzy.” My god, you guys are so used to being outraged it’s just your default setting at this point. I can’t blame you though. Being indoctrinated against your will into religion as a child makes it hard to break free from the brainwashing that you’re the one being persecuted.

FemEagle • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Wow, those Tweets sure showed how open-minded and tolerant the Hollywood left is. Me, I just think about how popular “Duck Dynasty” is…and how quickly “The New Normal” and “Sean Saves The World” got cancelled. Priceless!

Whatever, Dude • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

No one was in a tizzy but GLAAD, who have also gone on record as saying they represent 15% of the population….sometimes 12%, sometimes 10%. The best of scientific documentation has 3.8%. LA and NY just are magnets so the presentation is skewed to those living there (which I do, in both places).
But the fact is that GLAAD doesn’t represent anyone at all. They represent political posturing, not people. Too bad. They could have done some good.
I lost respect for them years ago, after I produced a commercial in favor of gay marriage. Dealing with their spin doctors was unbearable. They had little regard for truth, facts, propriety – they thought they were not just entitled, but obligated, to hurt, crush, censor, silence and obliterate anyone who didn’t believe exactly as they did. They had no interest in dialogue, nor even of truthful presentation. They shelved my commercial because it did not attack anyone, and this was their direct criticism. They were stupid and selfish.
Robertson here had no malice in his statements. He did NOT “compare” homosexuality to beastiality. He did list them as a category of sinful affronts, which according to his (and the vast majority of Christian sects) of his religion is correct. He was not calling for violence, he didn’t call for subjugation. He stated his – and a huge portion of the world’s – beliefs. Yeah, he was a bit idiosyncratic in doing so, but that is him (not that I have ever seen the show, but I gather from the recent press).
And non’t try to paste me as some zealot. I am an atheist. I am straight. But I also see that we as a society are going to be quite diverse – in the sense of diversity that actually matters. People like GLAAD want to force everyone to conform to their narrow worldview, and in the last 20 years fundamentalist Christians have dropped that operating standard. We cannot force each other to conform, but we can learn to live in the same cities, on the same block and even sometimes in the same house – but the GLAAD-like zealots have no interest in that, nor does anyone who appreciates the reality of the times we live in.
The advocates like GLAAD have lost track of what diversity actually is, just as they have lost track of what “open-minded” actually means. Neither means adherence to a preformed mindset and subjugation of all else, yet that is what they practice.

Jurge • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Whatever, Dude, – that was a BRILLIANT post. The best I have ever read here on Deadline, and I give Deadline credit for not taking sides. That was not always the case.

nom de guerre • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Well, it is an industry website so you should know the jargon. These twits should never have been given a show in the first place and nobody with a three figure IQ takes anything they say seriously.

Weel, doggie; seems 250,000+ take what Phil says REAL seriously.
Seems you and your Christian-bashing crowd ARE DOWN FOR THE COUNT.

Thomas Long • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Once again, a major company breaks because the show is a moneymaker. Remarks like what Phil said would have canceled the whole show if it wasn’t lining the pockets for the bigwigs at A&E. Many people feel the same way I do and not only will stop watching Duck Dynasty, but the whole channel as well. Too bad the Walking Dead happens to be on the bigots channel.

huh • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The Walking Dead isn’t on A&E, its on AMC, completely different channel owned by a completely different company.

Justwondering • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I agree — you are sorry. And just what holiday are you speaking of?

luke • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Don’t blame it on the “hillbillies” or whatever you want to call people you consider beneath you.

Instead, blame A&E and Bravo and these other reality-heavy networks that search far and wide for the trashiest of the trashy or redneckiest of the redneck in order to give them shows so the networks can exploit and make money off them and audiences can feel better about themselves by looking down and ridiculing the subjects of the shows.

It’s no better than Maury Povich with virtually every show of his talk show being about the sluttiest and most stereotypical black women testing a ridiculously long line of the sluttiest and most stereotypical black men to find their baby daddy.

The term is called othering. Basically it’s people objectifying and exploiting another group for their own twisted amusement.

In regard to Duck Dynasty, an A&E rep was there in the room during the interview in question and he/she just say there and didn’t try to either control the situation or insist on “controversial” opinions being cut from the final interview so let’s be honest about this.

This is one big PR scam. The faux outrage has done nothing but raise awareness for A&E’s number one show and the ratings for the upcoming season are going to be through the roof as people who wouldn’t normally have watched the show check it out just out of curiosity.

lib2libertarian • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

It may be a scam but here’s the thing. As amused by the outrage as I am, I cannot watch this show. Tried once and couldn’t get through an episode. That leaves the fans. There are 1.8 MILLION promising to BOYCOTT the show and all other A&E programming–so far. Many of them have already blocked A@E so that no one else in the family will watch either. This is a train wreck for A&E. They will apologize, and soon.

Marcus • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Let’s be clear here. Even if you have 1.8 million people boycott the show their ratings will still be high.If you want to increase ratings on this show let the left threaten to boycott it. That sure did work well for chick Fil-A! Record sales happened because of the Boycott from the left. I would suspect that those who threaten to boycott don’t watch the show to begin with.

There will be so many more new viewers because of a boycott from the left. People who don’t already watch the show but are christian will begin to tune in. That is already starting to happen. I only see their ratings going up as a result of this. Go ahead and test the fans resolve again. Apparently the left still has not learned from this.

The thought police have said that Christians don’t have a right to their point of view and that it is politically incorrect and offensive. Never mind that the left no longer worries about being offensive to the Christian community. That is really the heart of this whole matter and everyone keeps missing it. That is why there was a battle cry in the first place.

If this show offends anyone then don’t watch it. Isn’t that what the left tells Christians to do about shows they find offensive?

Fred • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The boycott is from people who support Phil. They want A&E to tank because of this and so do I. They persecuted a man for his Christian belief. I believe Homosexuality is a sin too. Oh NO! I guess I will be fired next! BTW. I will not buy any Duck Dynasty merchandise either because it only supports A&E. Duck Commander is where I will spend my money. Get the word out. I know I will. Christians need to speak up. Did anyone but me realize that the offended people that Cracker Barrel was talking about was the Christians. Wow, people ARE uneducated.

M.J. • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I do not think anyone has “Said” that Christians or anyone else do not have a right to their point of view. Phil R. can say anything (And did) say anything he wants. He can stand on a mountain and yell whatever he wants. He can go on a radio show, stand in the middle of a town square, he can state his beliefs at anytime and pretty much anywhere. No one has imprisoned Phil Robertson or taken away his right to free speech. However, his employer has the right to suspend him. He works for A & E, and this was their call. He compared homosexuality to bestiality in a public forum; evidently, the statement did not go down well with his employers. Therefore, it would appear he has been suspended. If there were no free speech for any group of people, we would not all be able to make these comments.

Txpatriot • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I never really watched Duck Dynasty, heard of it, just not into the idea. Until the Phil thing. Now I’ve seen 6 episodes and will be a viewer. I suspect that there will be millions of Christians like me who now suddenly start tuning in.

PS: It is a fun show.

donna moore • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

@MJ, either you didn’t read the interview or for some reason after reading it you went with the liberal media’s explanation of what was said by Phil Robertson. Here is the quote you are referring to: “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he says. Then he paraphrases Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.” Bestiality is linked with lots of other moral issues that Robertson defines as sin, he is not COMPARING homosexuality to bestiality. Just because you hear something or read something from a left leaning media source, it does not make it true.

oh hey MJ • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Of course A&E has the right to “fire” their golden goose. *laughs*

As to your other statement: Phil Robertson did not “compare” homosexuality to bestiality. He included it in a list of other sins. If you have ever the Bible Phil Robertson believes with his whole heart is Truth. It clearly states that ALL sin is equal save one: the denial of the Holy Spirit. That is the one and only unforgivable sin. So, let’s stop acting as though Phil Robertson invented some new concept that has liberals panties in a severe twist. It’s been in the Good Book for many o’ generations.

Phil Robertson didn’t say anything controversial or shocking to anyone who has at the very minimum treated the Bible as a study in literature. So many of you are so afraid of it, you think reading it will give you Cooties or something, and so you are completely ignorant of its contents. All sin is equal: lust, greed, envy, sloth, pride, wrath and gluttony. So yes, bestiality and homosexuality rank right up there with your jealousy of this rich redneck from Louisiana and your impotent rage at A&E for giving him a forum from which to give his testimony, confess his sins and profess the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Indianamike • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I’ve never watched Dick Dynasty either and this isn’t about a TV show. It’s about people starting to strike back against those Socialist (with OTHERS money), perverted, totalitarians from both Coasts dictating to people what they must feel, think, say and do or be attacked by these same disgusting, perverted, child molesting, Hollywood, low life scum. This extends into politics of course because their money keeps this political scum in power. Hollywood has hated the Country and it’s normal people for decades and people are now coming to hate them back.

jr666'r • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

1.8 million people actually doing something instead of watching this crap? and somehow that’s a bad thing?

pattersongirl • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

They can apologize or they may have to shut down their network fairly soon. We ,who stand behind this bible believing man, are serious about not watching A&E until they apologize to him.

Grizzly • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

No, you’ve got it completely wrong. People enjoy these blue-collar reality shows because they identify with the values expressed in them. Most of these shows are intensely pro-American. These are also interesting people, unlike the coked-out and cut-up Hollywood idiots. If you are a typical 25 yo male, would you rather watch a fat bald guy swear and drive hard bargains, or an effeminate metrosexual preen and whine?

Besides, you yourself are guilty of “othering” the stars. These people voluntarily did these shows, yet when you say they are being exploited you imply that they are too stupid to know otherwise. Don’t be so elitist.

cdm • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

no, you are wrong. According to the EEOC, an employer cannot discriminate based on race, gender, religion, age, or sexual orientation. You cannot fire someone for expressing their religious opinion. If you think they can, then that means you think A&E can fire someone for being black, or a woman, or for being gay [or straight].

Doc • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Well said — A&E thought they were doing another “Honey Boo Boo,” positing stereotypical rednecks for the so-called East/West Coast literati to laugh at. “Othering,” indeed. But guess what? New York and LA are NOT the representatives of the mass of Americans, not by a long shot, and out there in the “hinterlands,” the “fly-over” country, they saw the Robertsons as laudable, righteous people who have strong families and family values, and hold fast to them, no matter what their choice of lifestyle. These are Americans driven by social acceptance into keeping their mouths shut about what they privately believe — that some things are just plain wrong, just plain evil, just plain un-Godly and antithetical to the base values that made and kept this country strong. Now, they see Phil as an American, Christian ayatollah, a near-Biblical prophet, who is America’s best chance to save our culture from the vulgarity, obscenity and “political correctness” in which it is drowning. Make no mistake, it’s very real, it’s the first salvo in a cultural war, sides are being chosen, and the times, they are a-changin’ once more.

Indianamike • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Well stated. Honey Boo Boo and most of these so called “reality shows” are nothing but the equivalent of the old racist Minstrel Shows; black face played for derisive emotions of superiority and hate. The only group you can do that to nowadays are rural, white, non-Democrat, non-homosexuals.

CB • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Doc, you are absolutely correct. I was born in California, then lived close to 40 years in Connecticut. 13 years ago I moved to Oklahoma where I will live out the rest of my days. Why? Because in OK there are still friendly, down-to-earth, godly people taking care of each other as depicted by the Robertsons, and much like my early life on either coast was before hollywierd/NYC became what they are today. I’ve never watched Honey Boo Boo, the swamp people, the hog chasing people, or any other ‘reality’ show spawned since, and including, Survivor because their previews looked so fake and I’m not into that sort of ‘entertainment’. But, I am a huge fan of Duck Dynasty and the Robertsons for exactly the reasons you stated.

Randy • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

As a Southerner and a citizen of Flyover Country I agree with your statement 100%. A&E are screwed on this deal. They will eat crow or they will lose.

Phil is a Christian who WILL express his beliefs. To punish him is to strengthen him.

Tom E • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

In reading the earlier posts it seems that a writer compares Duck Dynasty and it’s following to that of Maury Povich wherein the viewer tunes in to view a “train wreck” example of human nature.
Nothing could be further from the truth regarding the DD family or it’s millions of viewers.
Judging from my own family members, and others whom I know, the viewers enjoy the familial banter between genuine, loving people who like to harmlessly kid each other while displaying a genuine care for each individual on the show, family or not.
Whether you view the show to be inspired by the family members love and admiration for each other or just prefer to watch harmless situational comedy in a very different venue than typical for Hollywood, the many viewers feel that the Robertsons present an example of what a loving American family should be if you live ion the swamplands of Louisiana and make hunting your avocation and vocation, alike. There is no train wreck to view with this series. Those seeking such should just “move on along”.

Stuart Kaufman • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

@AC: Your snarky description of a “hillbilly can of worms” indicates that you have not understood one iota about the implications of this controversy. The most insightful words in the whole piece? “Hollywood and New York Are Not the Norm in the Country.” Believe it or not, the Robertsons represent the people of America a lot more than you do (judging by your remarks). If you are a Media executive, you are heading for a train wreck of your own, because unless you are targeting an audience of insulated New Yorkers, Chicagoans and Angelenos, you don’t know your audience at all.

Zoltan The Magnificent • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Well said !

David Anderson • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Amen brother, you focused in on the most important point in the entire article.

templeknight • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Stuart
Bang on. If in fact the Robertson family is worth +/- 400 million,
then the term hillbilly becomes idiotic; and to think they made their fortune honestly. That would never occur in fruit and nut land, east or west.

Emerald • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Got to love media ‘elite’ logic:
The bankers, big oil, Monsanto, Bush, Insurance companies, venture capitalists…. all evil. All out to hurt the little guy. Oh what’s this? The little guy making million off duck whistles? Well **** that trailer trash. Who do they think they are? Check this out, those hicks believe gays are going to hell! Well we don’t believe in god or hell but that offends us anyway. Why? Because. That’s why. I bet they didn’t even vote for Obama. What trash! Let’s just pimp the next Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus record and show the world what real class is.

The A&E suits no more understand what they have here than Hollywood suits understood what happened with Forrest Gump. They thought they were making fun of stupid white trash. Instead the audience saw it as ridiculing the lefty hippies and anti-war types. I’ve never seen DD and don’t want to but it is hilarious to see how clueless the A&E types are. They may make money now but the franchise will be gone unless they back down.

rocky • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

you are one the mark.
those currently in charge just don’t get it, never will.

Stuart Kaufman • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

By the way, “AC,” anonymity is cowardice. If you have an opinion, at least have the balls to attach your name to it.

Bruce Pierce • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Stuart, typical liberal response to a message they do not like, attack the messenger not the message.

MarkJ • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Those “hillbillies” to whom you so charmingly refer are collectively worth about $400m. Phil Robertson also overcame an impoverished upbringing, came back from a substance abuse problem, has a master’s degree in education from Louisiana Tech, taught school for several years, was an All-State athlete, and actually turned down an offer to play pro ball with the Washington Redskins.

Got any other “sophisticated” discourse for us, buddy?

Northwestdad • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Amen.

Jack • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Amen Brother!

AmuzedObserver • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Exactly. Thank you!

Floyd R Turbo (American) • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

This may come as a surprise to you, but pretty much the whole world is: “Hillbilly”. Almost nowhere is like Hollywood.
.
Way back when ABC/NBC/CBS owned television it was possible for a tiny elite to force nonsense down our throats – those days are gone. People will watch what appeals to them, and for most of the country that doesn’t include: “Sixty Minutes”, “The West Wing”, or “Bill Maher”.
.
Unless you’re planning to get government funding, your “scripted programming” is going to “repurpose monies” from Hollywood pockets into the pockets of people like Phil Robertson – and that would be a good thing.
.
There is nothing “elevating” about Hollywood’s “discourse” – it is all relentlessly characterised by anti-american, anti-religious, anti-White, and anti-Straight propaganda.
.
The days of the knee-jerk hollywood liberal are over – either learn a new trick or go the way of the dinosaur…
.
Merry Christmas !!

Gary Kaufman • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Bravo Floyd. Merry Christmas. BTW, I live in So Cal and there are many of us here like you and the great majority of the rest of the country. WE know what we like and we know when BS is being shoved down or collective throats.

jo • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

thank you….Merry Christmas

Angela • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Perfectly put, Floyd! Merry Christmas!

Scott • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Said the unemployed writer….

casepacker • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You got that right! You best not mess with my hillbilly can of worms unless you want a reaction like you’ve seen! There are alot more of us around than you think-that is if you ever stray more than a few miles from the world’s tallest buildings and get to where people still have the heart of the people that founded this great nation!

Pyramid • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

AC: You were so busy thumbing through your Thesaurus looking for big words to use you missed the bigger point. Phil and his family may live in a swamp, but their convictions resonate with a huge number of Americans (particularly people outside of New York and LA). And since conservatives normally don’t make a big fuss about things, the outcry suggests that this is a big deal. Have a blessed Christmas.

james • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

They have a successful business, obviously love each other, have a sense of humor, love to have fun, have well behaved children…… I’m not seeing much to make fun of.

Ted • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You must be a TV exec, because that was far beyond stupid.

AC • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You have all made my point. There’s no going back and you are all on the gravy train of lowest common denominator. There was nothing elitist about my post. It was merely an honest assessment of the what big corporations do as it relates to the bottom line. That was the subject of the story if I’m not mistaken. Do you really think A&E, or any other network has an iota of altruism in their efforts? Of course not. They are looking for the next train wreck and they found it. But there’s no value in reality programming in terms of after its original airing, so the pain of this kind of spin campaign isn’t worth it in the end. But that’s the risk of any can of worms, hillbilly, elitist or somewhere in the middle when you are talking about extreme point of view. You can’t predict what will happen. I don’t use a thesaurus, I’m not in the industry, but I observe media and consume programming in a whole bunch of ways. And BTW, Happy Holiday’s is a catch phrase for all our celebrations. It’s not PC, it’s just a large umbrella from which to wish everyone well.

Robert Strong • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I think you’re missing an important point. A&E started this show thinking that the audience would join them in laughing at what they probably considered a bunch of modern day Beverly Hillbillies with their old time religion. What A&E did not expect was that the reason the show became popular is that its audience IDENTIFIES with the family–with their values at least, if not their lifestyle. The show was intended to be something to mock and laugh at, but it became something to admire.

BAB • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Hollywood made the same miscalculation when it created Archie Bunker of All in the Family in the 70’s.
They set him up to be an ignorant bigoted buffoon, but the real America of the Silent Majority fully embraced him, and not Meathead. We knew Archie wasn’t perfect by any means, but he resonated with most of the viewers.

commentor • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

bingo on a&e’s unintentional success, btw

Northwestdad • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

AC, you said, “…you open a hillbilly can of worms; look into a world that is probably best left to a small and local sampling, and you unleash unpredictability and the kind of chaos that can damage the bottom line in profound ways.” It is you who is missing the point. The folks you call hillbillies (they prefer redneck by the way) are an educated, down to earth family running a successful international business from a small town in Louisiana. The fact that they have retained their down home values, appreciation for the god (or nature if you prefer) given glory of the world we live in and believe their religion guides them to live a better life is somehow offensive to the “elites” of this country but encouraging to many who struggle to provide for their families and live a good life. Ironically the network wanted them to provide more of a “trainwreck” atmosphere by staging phony fights but the family refused as they refused to hide their religious beliefs and it has become an economic bonanza for both. Guess mebee them thar redniks with there master deegrees maght be teachin’ them so fistircated Holliwood folks a thang er 2 bout makin’ money. Wouncha say?

RM • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

So you’re describing this Duck Dynasty show as a lowest common denominator offering, while also claiming you’re not being elitist.

You’re a parody of yourself, lad.

Emmanuelle Goldstein • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“But there’s no value in reality programming in terms of after its original airing, so the pain of this kind of spin campaign isn’t worth it in the end”

Entirely incorrect. Huge numbers of people get their entertainment via Roku or other players, and subscribe to streaming channels like Netflix, Amazon, etc. They binge watch, and may watch an entire series two or three times. This is the direction TV is going, away from bundled packages, and people will binge a show like this as their only entertainment for weeks. It’s already happening.

bulldog • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

AC, just go away. Your remarks are so inane and boring that I feel you should just go to sleep.

Claude • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

But yet, you stay awake and read it… and then take the time to make a stupid post.

Jack • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I think you forgot to put the “just” in front of PC in your last sentence. FYI, this isn’t about train wrecks. Since when is a family that clearly loves it’s members and has fun while making money hand over fist lowest common denominator stuff? I’ve come to find out that is all that’s really important in life, especially the loving and having fun part.

Bob 12118214 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“..Happy Holiday’s is a catch phrase for all our celebrations.”

Kinda like a ‘have a happy whatever’. It just drips with sincerity.

realclearconservative • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Have a Happy Generic Day! …..
You’re right.

dafeenix • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I’m thinking that you’ve never actually watched Duck Dynasty. You seem to be responding to what you assume the program is about.

Have you actually watched Duck Dynasty?

Be surprised if you have.

Pellmell • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Merry Christmas

cogsys • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

If I remember correctly, scripted shows with a few exceptions were never really that good.

I am also amused that the entertainment industry that takes some pride when a star is a rebel, a la miley Cyrus and numerous others talks about ‘controlling’ their stars.

This whole affair reeks of stupidity, hypocrisy and corporate greed.

williampenn • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Right. ‘Cause only the people in NY and LA count; you know, the sophisticates.

gary1944 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

It was a typical knee jerk liberal reaction by A&E.

ron l • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I think you meant to say, “…the times we live that is less base and more hopeful IN MY OPINION.”

Max Lorel • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

… do you really mean to say that shows like “Glee” and “Big Bang Theory” are less base and more moral than Duck Dynasty ?

Tom Arielly • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Please – I think this was A&Es amateurish way of distancing itself from a show that has not turned out to be what they intended. I’m sure the suits in Manhattan thought this series would be a “look at the goofy hillbillies” comedy – a chance for the country to share a laugh with the Upper West Side crowd at the lesser humans who inhabit the country west of the Potomac. Funny thing happened on the way to the snark-fest — a whole lot of that country identified with the Robertson family’s belief-centered approach to life, which is the real message of the show. You can almost hear the A&E boardroom discussion – “how do we get rid of this religion thing, make our cocktail party friends happy, and still make truckloads of money off the backs of these Robertson rubes”? All these execs wondering why A&E did this GQ thing in the first place? It was intended all along….dumb, but intentional.

Pellmell • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Here’s what will happen:
A&E wants to keep making money off the show.
A&E wants to save face and keep both gay pressure groups and their tony friends off their backs.
Phil Robertson wants a platform to spread the Gospel. His kids are OK with that, but don’t want it as much.
A&E and Phil will have a highly publicized meeting. For some it will seem a “taken to the woodshed” moment, for others it will be a “standing up to the man” moment. Both sides will declare victory.
Show will continue on A&E.
Until Phil goes to the next level, which he will, because he really does not give a damn about the show.

RJWY • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Scripted TV to elevate the discourse is an oxymoron. TV is, for the most part, brain candy. The appeal of Duck Dynasty is a close knit family that works together, and sticks to their values. Sure they are not cultured. Frankly, being cultured does not make a person good, or even respectable. To be more blunt, pretension is the effect of the insecure.

Do not simply insult what you do not like. Find what others value in it. Maybe you are missing something.

Uncle Bernie • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Thanks AC! Don’t have the slightest idea what you meant, but Merry Christmas anyway!

Grant • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

It’s interesting that I don’t give a “flying Fuck about your analysis”.
You are what is wrong with the industry. You get more results with honey than vinegar, but as the informed masses see more of your thoughts the more you look like Goebbels and you know what happened to him and his God.
Later years some one like Pol Pot came along saw the decadence( real or not) and piled up the skulls. Clean up your act, or you will repeat history.

jz • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

In other words… suppress individuality and free thought. Feed the masses the thought patterns to which we want them to conform. Let’s not allow anything which could potentially lead to healthy debate. Conflicting viewpoints are not acceptable.

I for one would not watch such watered down programming. Human growth is achieved by studying conflicting opinions and creating your own convictions and thoughts by all the data in which you immerse yourself. Not allowing that causes brain atrophy, and lack of personality, and weakness of character and convictions.

Ken O. • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Do you people do this on purpose, or is it an accident of ignorance?

“comparing homosexuality to bestiality”

This never happened, but it has been a talking point of the hate filled gay community spokespersons since the interview was published.

So, are you trying to write truthful, meaningful articles or are you only trying for brownie points on the internet?

LaZrtx • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The Robertsons are not Hillbillys. They live in the swamp in Louisiana. The term is Coonass.

wordkyle • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Thanks for pointing that out. Someone who implies that those he considers less sophisticated are also more ignorant than he, and then calls people who live at sea level “hillbillies,” doesn’t recognize his own irony.

KHorn • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Actually that term is not correct either. Coonass refers to Cajuns. In Louisiana the Robertsons are considered rednecks.

Todd B • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

First of all, they prefer to be called rednecks, not hillbillies. Also, Phil Robertson was born into poverty, got his masters degree in teaching from Louisiana Tech, along with Terry Bradshaw, taught for several years,was drafted by the Redskins to be their quarterback(he turned them down), grew a 400 million dollar business out of nothing, owns hundreds of acreage of which he personally cultivates and takes care of it as he works with scientist and biologists for duck conservation, and can tell you anything you want to know about ducks. The man is brilliant. He just so happens to be a humble person. He obviously is very comfortable with who he is, unlike many of the dysfunctional low self esteem Hollywood so called elites who are like sheep scared to be themselves.

sherrb1158 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Hey, I live in Southeast Texas and I don’t follow all of the Duck Dynasty stuff, but I can tell you that we are who we are, and we don’t need to be putting it out there one way or another if it is something mean. I don’t believe that the “Gay” lifestyle is right, but I’m not God. I do believe that the Bible says that it is wrong, but again, I am not God. Many of us believe what we believe, and most of us are Christians, however that is not something that should be pushed upon anyone nor should it be laughed at. The only problem I have with all of this is that our beliefs should be something that we show and shine in a good way and not something that should be made a spectacle of. That includes that people that don’t believe what we believe as Christians shouldn’t chastise us and marginalize us. We have a right to believe in God …. at least last time I checked the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

gary • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I am a Hillbilly and I’m insulted! These guys are flatlanders! Ain’t no hills in Louisianna! But go get them Phil! We’ll save the feud for later!

Can’t you read? Robertson did not “compare beastiality to homosexuality”. He listed several things the Bible calls sin, among them homosexuality AND beastiality. He also listed several other things in that same biblical passage including adultery. Why did you not say he compared adultery to homosexuality? It would have made as much sense. But, then, it would not have been as sensational, would it?

FeeNom • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Obviously A & E can’t handle real “reality”, only the reality they want you to see.

richard • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

What is surprising is the lack of understanding that, geographically speaking, most people here in the country may not look like the Robertsons, but they think like them. This family doesn’t come off different or strange to me, living in the South. They seem like a country family that sometimes plays golf on vacation on hangs out on the beach…and they are rich. I can find strange things about people everywhere but I can find good things about them too. It is too bad so many are willing to dismiss this as hillbilly.

PC NAZI • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

While I find the comments by Phil Robertson offensive, I also find Politically Correct Nazism offensive as well. You need to engage people, not try to take their livelihood. Religeous and Gay Extremists should try to talk it out, not see who’s lives they can ruin for saying something

Anonymous • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Scripted has continually lowered the discourse. From “all in the family” to “modern family” anybody with a smidgen of intelligence can see just how debased things have become.

Check out the condescending assholery in this guy talking about the show as “a world that is probably best left to a small and local sampling.”

By whose judgement? Certainly not by the judgement of the viewers who made it the highest rated show in reality show history.

p anderson • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“a new financing paradigm for scripted programming”? what nonsense! the problem with your idea is that no one wants to watch it!

if you’ve got all the answers why aren’t you doing their job? because you can’t. they’re the geniuses that found the robertsons, got too full of themselves and then lost them. end of story.

Kevin Fodor • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Except that it’s not a “small and local sampling”. It’s the network’s #1 show.

Add to that the fact that NBC’s “Sound Of Music” with Carrie Underwood in the lead role got 21.3 million viewers. I don’t care what Hollywood execs, The Von Trapp Family or anyone else says…the numbers don’t lie.

Real Americans are looking for wholesome family entertainment.

Now, that doesn’t mean other programs cannot exist within the overall scheme of things. But, the majority of Americans are getting sick and tired of being force fed “alternative lifestyles” as the majority of their TV programming. Air it if you wish, fine. But, leave room for the mainstream majority. And don’t categorize it thru the prism of political correctness.

Entertain us. Leave the politics to the politicians. That’s what the networks are missing.

Stormwatcher • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Cable has 100s of channels. Surely you can find something that will satisfy your elitist taste in programming. Leave Duck Dynasty to us base hillbillies.

Ben • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

What? No one can really see the forest for the trees in all of this? The ultimate cutting off of one’s nose to spite their face! The A&E folks in New York are self deceived in thinking that the vast majority of free thinking people in America are prepared to kowtow to the same PC agenda that forces their local Boy Scout troupe to embrace the twisted paradigm of Sodom. They stepped into it and on it at the same time! People are sick and tired of having this sodomite agenda literally shoved down their throats at every turn. You may have just awakened a sleeping giant ala Isoroku Yamamoto style with the bombing of Phil Robertson.

BILLY JOHNSON • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

There seems to be many more people that support the ability to speak freely. Those that oppose what is said will invariably make fun of the speakers. Seems the liberal/progressive way. No statements of fact, just 5th grade sniping.

Anonymous • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

these people ????

roagie allen • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

@Ac …You must think a lot about what you say…Shame you are just talking to a small group , of elitist , that will be swept aside like the chaff .

Juan • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Insults are common place on this show. It’s reminiscent of All in the Family, the Jeffersons, & more recently Family Guy. They all survived their hit status for yrs (FG still) because they insult EVERYBODY! DD doesn’t just insult people. They insult animals as well.

Phil represents the majority (55%) of Americans who don’t view homosexuality as sinless. But he also lacks the right level of compassion for GLBTs. The preponderance of the evidence is that people are born gay far more often than they are nutured toards gayness. We can now physically differentiate between GLBTs & straights & we know hormones play a vital role in both sexual orientation & attraction. G’s have similar sized brain areas as females & L’s have similar sizes to males. Women on the pill seek males with sizes closer to males & when they go off they seek males with sizes closer to females. G’s have different odors than straights, etc.

Tim • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

This article is pathetically condescending and elitist in its tone. It essentially belittles anyone who is not a “city slicker” and makes it seem like the declaration of there being no God is a science fact.
If someone like Phil believes in God and what the bible says about sin, he has EVERY right to speak openly about it, and they call this America the home of the free.
Whoever wrote this article also approaches this discussion with an obvious bias that “little” people should be fully controlled and squashed by the big fat cats who own and run everything. Another sad and pathetic position to hold. The dopes who are running everything ignore the will of the people, and have completely screwed up our economy and the future of our country. It turns out the People have it right way more than the idiots who have the self-elitist attitudes.
I say Phil for President, and take the idiots who write these articles and run A&E and put them where they truly belong – cleaning toilets at the stadium.

Sara • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I agree whole heartedly. I thought this was the ARTS and Entertainment. This is no art form I have ever seen, and the show on this network have deteriorated from wonderful programs from the BBC to this disgusting pap. I have seen a moment of Duck Dynasty in commercials or while flipping the channel, and that is too much for me. I long for the days when people told wonderful stories or just had real talent. Now any idiot can be on television. It appears that most of these reality shows aren’t real at all. The celebrities make quite a bit of money just for people to laugh at their stupidity. They add no real value to television viewing. I would rather watch a rerun of almost anything 20 years or older than the garbage on television. I pulled my cable once, and if my boyfriend wasn’t such a sports fan I would pull it again. When duck dynasty returns. Turn off the television and read a book. Remember those. There are quite a few of them out there, and most don’t give people the right to judge other people.

Jeremy Abrams • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I think Q&E can fairly be accused of hypocrisy. If Phil is beyond the pale, pull Phil’s show. Right now. If he’d voiced sympathy for Hitler he’d be off the air. Either he’s a pariah or he’s not, but apparently they think he’s a money-making pariah. Hypocrisy.

Wallabee • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

> “repurpose monies and create a new financing paradigm for scripted programming that can elevate our discourse and leave a marker for the times we live that is less base and more hopeful.”

What software did you use to generate this hilarious gibberish? It reminds me of that website years ago where you could type in any text and it would translate it into some gangsta-rap.

Or, were you trying to be “ironic”? Naw, I don’t think this is smart enough; it’s just silly nonsense.

12thlegion • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

In other words it is time to guard against beliefs or opinions that disagree with yours.

Dirtt • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Yeah. Right. Let’s put this in plain English.

The scripted programming you dream about has been tried. Failed miserably. What you fail to admit to yourselves (my guess is that you are a writer) is the secular pious self-serving nature behind the script has lost its veneer. Overt messaging is not just anecdotal. It is essential. And it has been thoroughly rejected by 70% of the USA.

Productions in the 80’s were made absent of divisive critical messaging. The advent of bias messaging leading to the incestuous dependency of said bias rocked the foundation which is now condemned to its self-destruction.

Hollywood & the Progressives walked through a one-way door. There is no turning back. The downfall – the glorious Kamikaze into the Golden Egg – is a marvel to witness. Grab some popcorn kids and watch Tinsel Town BURN TO THE GROUND.

jessica • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The whole show is a fraud. Have you seen the pictures of these guys with their families before they were on Duck Dynasty? They look like christmas cards for Abercrombie and Fitch. These guys are educated and hold college degrees.

Shinobi-San • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Could you translate that into English?

Missy • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Who is W. Kamau Bell? Does he work in this business? Probably a complete nobody like Billy Eichner.

HH@awe.com • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I think Bell has a little TV show no one watches. Probably trying to get an audience by speaking out of his ass. And yes, never even heard of Eichner, he’s nothing.

George • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Just one comment. Billy Eichner is a nobody in this business and needs to shut the fuck up.

I hadn’t seen a group “Hollywood” stand behind one of their own and play the PR game, since the GOP stood behind “the W”.
This is nothing but a publicitiy stunt coming in for a homerun. This “scandal” exploded 3 weeks before the premiere of episodes that were already filmed. “Rookie Mistake” yeah right! try “Genius PR move” to close out the 2013 financials. The whole show was already on scheduled hiatus for Duck hunting season when all this went public. So Everybody is a winner…
1. GQ for the interview, mags are gonna fly off the shelves.
2. A&E for various marathons before 1/1/14 and premiere eps stating 1/15 airing right thru the February sweeps period, so A&E will adjust their ad rates way UP for the spring time during which time A&E will premiere new seasons of other shows that don’t have the viewership that DD has. Again Genius!
3. All the TV News shows thats covering this “scandal”, their ratings go up also.
4. lets not forget DD merch., Bet those shelves will also be clean come 12/26.
A&E and the Robertson clan are Genius…
So you ask how A&E would allow such a thing to go public? its simple, he was speaking his peace via his Federally Protected right to religious freedom of speech.
So why all the viewers are watching the new shows starting in January “supporting Phil”. A&E and the Robertson’s will be counting all their greenback made from this “Scandal” and quacking all the way to the bank. Hope they wish their “Very Spiked” viewership a Very Merry Thank You & Happy New Year on-air.

tell it like it is • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

one more thing, i bet Phill will be “reinstated” to the show just before premiere with big fan-fare of press releases…the last step to spike the ratings for 1/15 premiere.

Harry Taft • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

This is my take,too. I’ve watched it unfold ever since the beginning (I’ve never seen the program) and posted my thoughts on my Facebook page. This is the biggest con since Cardiff Man. The word for the PR goes beyond genius. I love it when some Red-Neck from the South can create such a tizzy and make money hand over fist. It’s too delicious.

ben • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You are not looking at sophisticated, sincere people here…and I’m taking about A & E! I have a friend who works at A & E, who told me a couple of months ago that they had this Duck show and A & E loves it – it gets ratings and it’s G-rated. They really didn’t know who their audience was. Shame on A & E,the Duck people and the media for not addressing the racist comments, as well as the misogyny. After the Sound of Music ratings and the I Love Lucy ratings, as well as the more positive aspects of the Duck show, can’t we return to the original mission of the ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT brand? There is so much legitimate music and arts talent available and these fine young and old artists don’t get heard. Nancy can probably get the first five waiters she gets at a restaurant in Greenpoint to put on a music show.

JoeS • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I remember when A&E stood for Arts and Entertainment as well. Talk abut lowest common denominator TV. IF a la carte Cable ever happens, I’m dropping every channel that is 90% “Reality TV” first day.

I hadn’t watched Duck Dynasty either, based on A&E’s own advertising that tried to portray the Robertsons as back water morons. In other words, what hate spewing liberals think of normal people.

I sat back Sunday and watched. Man this is good TV! These are normal people that we all know. No wonder some 16 million people let them in their house ever week!

The show is somewhat scripted, with the Robertsons thinking up their own “skits” The production quality is better than most high end shows on the “Big 4″ networks.

All I know is the haters should watch the show. This isn’t like the other crap on A&E, or any other “reality” shows. These are cool people living life to the fullest, and are recognizable as friends, because all of us normal people grew up around folks just like them.

Considering the other crap A&E puts out, the “Arts and Entertainment” channel better pray Phil and his family don’t take their show elsewhere!

Elle • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

SPOT ON!I watched several episodes of Duck Dynasty out of curiosity. The up-from-poverty Robertsons created a show about a close knit family who value faith, family, work, education,and respect for nature. The patriarch and his wife clearly love, respect, and support each other as do their sons and their wives. Phil Robertson never used the show to bash gays or anyone else. And A&E certainly knew who they were getting when they purchased the show. In fact, A&E unsuccessfully tried to censor the Robertsons from citing Jesus in their prayers. The net work also inserted bleeps to make it appear that the Robertsons cursed-when in fact they do not.
In the GQ article Phil Robertson did not “compare homosexuality to bestiality. He spoke of sin as it is conventionally defined in the bible , including homosexuality, fornication, adultery bestiality, slander, theft, drunkenness etc. AND specifically stated that Christians are called upon to love and respect all even if they do not approve or understand a particular behavior. He also shared his own history as a drunk and an adulterer before becoming religious. As he said, We never judge anyone. We love ‘em all, give ‘em the good news about Jesus, and let God sort it out.
One can disagree with the biblical definition of sin. But Phil Robertson did not engage in hate speech on the show or in the GQ interview. He did something even more exotic in today’s society. He dared to express an opinion not approved by the self-appointed elite masters of permissible speech and their fawning media courtiers.

You nailed it. Most people who haven’t seen any more than shots of the family in camos with ZZ Top playing in the background probably think this show is something on the level of tuning in to laugh at Honey Boo Boo. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have nothing but respect for these guys and their families and even though it is scripted to a degree, these guys are genuinely funny.

Gordon Campbell • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

It’s about to become Law in Canada-no more forced cable bundling-catch up.

It has been around for years. Google Roku, and check out Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, and a bazillion other providers. It costs FAR less, and you can get pretty much whatever you want.

Mae • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I am quite sure the cable company won’t miss your $12.95 per month, but you go on and make that statement! Don’t forget to stamp your foot when you do it.

Victoria • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You are very much mistaken. Phil Robertson has a Master’s degree in education and was a teacher. Do you think it’s easy starting out with nothing and building a duck calling business into a $400 million empire? He and his family are VERY business savvy, and very smart. Seems like you’ve never watched the show or read up on the family. Do your homework, my friend. Underestimate them at your own peril.

Tim Getchell • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Thank you Victoria. These good folks should never be underestimated.

chuck • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I bet this debacle is going to be topic at AE shareholder’s meeting. Question since this is a debacle could some AE network execs get fired down the road?

inthebusiness • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

does anyone really care about this deliverence rip-off?

Yen Watababe • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You must be “inthebusiness” to make that statement. Why post at all?

Jehosophat • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Well, hail yes!!! I do care about a family that loves each other, has the traditional values of Americans and is also pretty funny.

What I don’t care about are those who are so narrow-minded and intolerant that they twist the truth and try to make something that wasn’t there at all (see Elle’s comment to straighten you out).

Jack • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Elle did say it well!

Sara56 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Well, you’re here, aren’t you?

gessiewtf • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The answer to you should be quite obvious to you by now I should think.

Eric Kane • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

How I wish A&E would simply cut these inbreds loose, so they can resurface on some marginal cable channel. I know this probably isn’t what will happen though.

ColoradoBill • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Some marginal cable channel? You mean like A&E?

Anonymous • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

To the extent that A&E isn’t a marginal cable network, it’s because of Duck Dynasty’s success. That is the reason A&E is gonna back down and apologize. A&E needs the Robertsons. The Robertsons don’t need A&E.

JJ • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The ratings will go up. They’ll go up temporarily but they’ll go up. There’s no outrage from viewers. The show doesn’t have a large gay audience. A&E and the show will be fine.

If there’s a single brain cell working at A&E, they’ll immediately re-brand themselves as Daffy Duck’s RealityCentral Channel.

Dean from Ohio • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Good pun!

That, and A&E lately, remind me of a quotation by Abraham Lincoln about then-General Rosecrans after the latter’s defeat at Chickamauga, saying that he was “confused and stunned, like a duck hit on the head.”

Factchecker • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A&E shows itself to be bigoted, intolerant, Christophobic and heterophobic.

Time to reexamine those COEXIST bumper stickers. Hollywood is showing its hypocrisy.

Steve D. • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

This is the best thing I’ve ever read! Thanks for the post! Do you mind if I quote it?

Maga • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I think A & E truly doesn’t know their audience here. There is a HUGE backlash against them, and the big dial in they are expecting for their marathon has evaporated due to their antics. For the negative comments about this show, I would bet y’all haven’t even watched it, let alone appreciate its’ massive appeal to those of us in the “mainstream”. We are sick of the trash aired and appreciate the Robertson’s for their morals, integrity and SUCCESS.

Richard Doddridge Blackmore • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The ‘co-exist’ thing only applies to like minded people.
The rabble, the little people with differing views, are clearly not capable of higher levels of thought.

Elle • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Exactly right.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Sorry, Where in the Bible does it say it’s okay to denigrate gays and Blacks and Muslims? My Bible says nothing of the sort.

I was an altar boy and cannot for the life remember any passage that says that, yet i distinctly remember the “Do unto others” part – not the “denigrate others who are different than me” part.

Also,
Defending Phil’s right to say what he wants while decrying those who excercise that SAME RIGHT to suspend and condemn Phil’s hate speech is itself anti-Freedom of Speech.
Well done. Pot, Meet kettle.

You can say whatever you’d like, but freedom of speech is NOT freedom of consequence speech. Hiding behind the Bible doesn’t excuse hate speech, it shows how weak your argument is when Jesus himself would condemn your defense.

Even my Parrish Priest condemned Phil’s remarks today – and WAS APPLAUDED BUY THE ENTIRE CONGREGATION. Only fake/weak Christians think the Bible says to attack those who are different.

If you read the article and were truthful about it, you’d realize you are just puffing smoke-rings of fantasy with comments like you just made. Pathetic tries just aren’t worth more than a couple of key strokes to kill.

MikeC711 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I read the interview and I’m not sure I saw all in that you saw. That being said, what he said was coarse and he went into WAAYYYY too much detail. Fact is, even if he had just said, “I hold a Biblical view on homosexuality and gay marriage” … it would have created the same outrage from the gay activist community (I say the activist community as I’ve heard from many gays who are a bit less militant and they are wondering why this molehill was turned into a mountain). If you could help me out and explain where he denigrated blacks and Muslims (especially blacks), it would help me to understand your point. As of now, I’m not seeing what you’re seeing, and I believe it may have less to do with color of skin, than thickness of skin.

enoughAlready • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Did you READ Phil’s comments? He listed a long list of sins that are equally unacceptable to God, one was homosexual behavior. Sounds like you nor your Priest have read what was said. For that matter doesn’t sound like you have read much of the bible either…or if you did you didn’t understand it. The man didn’t attack anyone(give me ONE name of a person he attacked) but pointed out that a long list of sins are against the teachings of the bible….and followed up with the fact that no sin is greater than the next. Sounds like you AND your Priest need to do a little reading because you missed the boat with this one.

Sean • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Your point would be spot on if Phil Robertson had actually denigrated gays and Blacks and Muslims. He did not. He spoke of sin, and laid out a whole list of them including heterosexual promiscuity. I keep hearing that he was equating homosexuality with bestiatlity. That is not at all true becuase if it were then he would also be equating it with heterosexual promiscuity. But that’s not sensational enough so the oh so tolerant GLAAD immediately jumps on the bestiality comment and claim that he was equating the two so they can act persecuted and indignent. All he did was to list a multitude of things that are sins to Christians. He didn’t judge them. He siad they were illogical, that sin is illogical. Neither did he put himself above any of the people who sin. He was asked what he thinks are sins and he gave GQ a list that is right from the bible. Jesus himself spoke of and listed various sins and he was certainly not judging.

And with respect to black people he was stating what his experience was with black people during Jim Crow. That they were much stronger people during that time, much more godly and family oriented. And that he was just like them out in the fields. Today, as a people they are none of these things. 70% of births out of wedlock, the family unit virtually non-existant and the strength that they showed as a people to get out from under the persecution they faced was admirable. But then they had leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. Today they have the likes of Al Sharpton and the Democrat party who have all but erased the good works of Martin Luther King, Jr. They used to fight for freedom and equality. Today they fight for Air Jordans. Self-fulfilment has been replaced with self-pity. People such as Alan West, Dr. Ben Carsin, Condaleeza Rice and Clarence Thomas are treated as pariahs in the black community simply because they are not Democrats, when they should be emulated for fufilling the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Finally, I’m not sure what type of church you attend but I find it difficult to believe it is a Christian Church. If it is, then your priest needs to go back to the seminary, or maybe just watch Duck Dynasty and learn what it means to spread the Word. And by the way, it is “Parish” Priest. Parrish is a community in Florida. Most church going people know the difference which is why I hav serious doubts that you even attend church Honest Rob, and if you don’t, then you’re not very honest…which by the way is a sin.

Sara • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I don’t care about church or no church. I am sick of stupidity and small minded behavior. He is a no talent celebrity and I give no value to anything he says. He talks about moral behavior and all these sins. There is little real or honest about reality shows. They are being paid huge sums of money to have cameras view their daily activities. Where is the honesty there. And the thing I still can’t understand is who cares about any of this. I have seen some reality show, due to someone else in the room selecting them, but mostly I walk out and put on a good movie. People with real talent can’t get a job, because the money grubbing (by the way greed is a sin) networks make more money by spending less on these pathetic excuse for television. What a shame when television could be so up-lifting. There are still two coasts full of people that want better television. Stand on your bibles all you like. I am not a christian, and I am not alone in this country. Thou I have read the Five books, of Moses and studied Ethics of the Fathers. I see no need to proselytize. Remember how well the crusades went. There will always be a backlash, no matter what, because Phil isn’t the only one with religious freedom, and back to someone from another comment. It doesn’t mean there are no consequences to that speech. Read your bible in peace, and leave everyone else to their own beliefs. I am sick of all this bible thumping, and breast beating. It is a stupid television show. Can’t anyone think of more important issues to fight about, like our poor educational system, poverty, hunger, the rich taking out their anger about having to pay taxes for a while on rest of us. Phil et al… aren’t worth all this. I wouldn’t have cared at all, but many people I love are gay and lesbian, and I don’t appreciate negative comment of any kind, because they are hurtful.

You can continue to ignore the parts of the Bible that you don’t like, but Christians like Phil Robertson and I would rather read the whole Bible (even the parts that convict us), understand it, and live by it. Phil did not say anything hateful about any group of people. If someone is defensive about his statements, then they should question why they are defensive. Deep down, I think they know they are wrong, and it bothers them.

Imagine if a character from another reality show had made statements against Christianity. Would there have been an uproar? I think not. Rather, people who were uncomfortable with the star’s statements would have spoken out by no longer watching the show. That’s what should have happened in this case: let the viewers decide the fate of the show. My prediction: the Robertsons will soon have their own cable network.

gessiewtf • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Did you have fun making all of that up?

gessiewtf • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

That was directed toward the person who said his whole congregation stood up and cheered after his priest/pastor denounced Duck Dynasty.

Murfthesurf • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Your pastor denigrates Phil and the whole congregation applauded? Sounds like a lynch mob in your church. What church is that?

JP • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A&E lost this one… Freedom of speech is not just something to be used when everyone agrees with it. Silly move by a 2nd-rate cable channel with sub-par leadership.

Harry Taft • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

JP – A minor point, the First Amendment’s protection is related to the individual and the government. So the government can not suppress dissent. A&E can take steps to remove Phil as an exercise of managerial discretion. I’ve posted elsewhere that I think this is all about pumping up interest in the new season. Kabuki Theater, if you know what I mean.

Sean • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

As a Japenese-American I take great offense to your comparison of one of my ancestral dances to the smoke and mirrors actions of the A&E Execs. That was a very racist comment.

But of course I am not Japenese-American and my post was full of fake indignence…sort of like what GLAAD did, eh?

Jack • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Sean, artfully done!

Prodius • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Very nice, you turned his own words against him.

Also of further note it’s amazing how people think breaking a legally binding contract over quoting the bible or his free speech is any less than an employer firing his worker because he is gay or pro-same sex marriage.

According to these people a gay person or a proponent of same sex marriage could be fired because his employer is not the government.

Brian Tychonski • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

IF this were strictly a freedom of speech issue, A&E would be completely in their rights to fire Phil Robertson. HOWEVER, what Phil said was not some off the wall remark, but instead an expression of his religious beliefs. It IS a violation of numerous state and Federal laws to discriminate against someone based on their religious beliefs. You can’t even consider religion when making hiring or other human resources related decisions.

Look at how many companies that ban their employees from wearing head coverings have had to allow Muslim women to wear a hajib or face hefty fines and lawsuit settlements. Personally, I think the policies should be uniform and if the person’s religion precludes them from following the policy, the person should seek different employment.

Kip Noxzema • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

That “act of managerial discretion” is called discrimination, no matter how you look at it. Funny how you never mentioned that, genius.

Beo • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Wait a minute. Here’s what you said. The 1st Amendment is related only to an individual’s interaction with government – not his employer.

Okay. What about a person’s sexual preferences?

Hear me out.

A company can be fined and sued for firing (or even not promoting) a person for being homosexual. But you’re saying that that same company is perfectly within their rights for firing a person for being a Christian or saying something unpopular.

And this is the state to which we have descended in America. You have more rights and legal protections for being gay than you do for being a Christian. Or even simply being an American. If your First Amendment rights come in to conflict with someone who is gay, you lose. Every time.

And before someone objects to this saying that a person can’t be fired for being a Christian, only for speaking out – are you kidding? Remember “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”? That was overturned. They are allowed to speak out. Christians, apparently, are not.

We have created a privileged class of people in our society. Not just homosexuals, but any number of other special interest groups have rights that supersede your Constitutional rights and freedoms.

The saddest thing to me is that people who otherwise get most things right don’t even consider how messed up this situation is. There’s just the “obvious” assumption that, yes, you can be fired for free speech, and that this is somehow normal and as it should be. In reality, this is what has led America into the politically correct freedomless wasteland where we find ourselves today.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Freedom of Speech is not what you think it is.
Here, I’ll explain it for you:

It’s not “freedom from consequence speech”.
it means you can say whatever you want, but also that EVERYONE ELSE can do the same. So if the rest of us think that your words constitute Hate Speech, we have every right to point that out. That’s not stopping you from saying anything, it is not an infringement on your free speech in any way. You expressing your opinion is not protected in any way shape or form.

And guess what? OUR OPINION IS AS VALID AS PHIL’S IS.
THAT is freedom of speech.
Get it now?

hahahaha • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Yeah but there’s more of us.

jo • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Thank you hahahaha.

Mallory Williams • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Want to make a bet on that?

Bob K. • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Yes

MikeC711 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

As a Libertarian, I agree with you completely. Whether A&E “could” do what they did is all in the details of their contract and I have to believe it was written to allow them to do exactly what they did. Actually doing it was likely a mistake on the part of A&E. This has NOTHING to do with the first amendment (unless A&E has become a gov’t agency unbeknownst to me) … and you are right that “freedom of speech” does not free someone from the consequences of their speech. A&E likely had every right to put Phil on “indefinite haiatus” … but it was not a wise thing to do. I do believe in the Bible and I believe Phil expanded into extra-biblical territory in explaining his position. That being said, if Phil is being said to be so horribly offensive, and Miley is fine (or Bill Maher’s discussions about anger-sex with female republicans raises no eye-brows) … there is a bit of a network double standard. Phil has to deal with the results of his words, but A&E has to deal with the results of their actions … which seem to include audience blow-back. I’m a Christian, a hunter, a Libertarian, etc … and I’ve not watched the show (limited time due to a demanding job). But I am enjoying the goat rodeo which I believe will end with A&E doing a fake apology and putting Phil back on and strongly dis-claiming his comments. If it does not, I see A&E going back to being a tiny fringe outlet like they were before DD more than doubled their viewership. I have to say, I’m a big fan of A&E … it must be hard to pack 30 minutes of excellent information into just 3.5 hours of programming time. It is no wonder DD looked so good.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Not a fan of Miley or Maher, but MTV and HBO are very different networks than A+E, so apples and oranges in regards to Phil..

enoughAlready • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

What about being fired for your religious beliefs? I believe that could be a real problem for A&E.

If not then it must be OK to fire all Muslims, atheists and Catholics. See how ridiculous that sounds?

TJ Miller • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Correction The First: Your opinion is as free from governmental interference as anyone else’s. That guarantee does not infer the validity of any given opinion – only facts and logic can do that. ;)

Correction The Second: “Hate Speech” is (unfortunately) a term that is far too abused/over-used (it’s usually used by the ignorant as a synonym for “something I do not agree with.”) As a corollary, given your complete and demonstrable ignorance of the entire GQ article that spawned this little tempest, the term is not applicable.

Correction The Third: You speak of consequences, but completely ignore them all – specifically, the consequences of A&E’s actions. The impact has yet to be seen (given the impending holiday, little wonder), but I strongly suspect that while “Duck Commander” products will still sell as they always have, “Duck Dynasty” probably will not do as well as the weeks pass. Mind you, there is also the aspect of competition. I don;t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be an executive in A&E Networks when the biggest ratings draw on the entire network decides to go do their show with a competitor. You see, the free market has a habit of enforcing consequences that even the government couldn’t be capable of.

Disturber • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

And Phil’s opinion is as valid as yours. That, my fine feathered friend is the bottom line in all of this.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

As is A+E’s. See? We all have a valid opinion.
And A+E wasn’t wrong to exercise theirs as you aren’t wrong to excercise yours.

and Phil can still be suspended for it – if this was all real and not manufactured by A+E in the first place…

You assume too much.
If someone of Phil’s stature had come out and Said some horrible hate speech about Christians, I’d be just as vocal.

I’m not like Sarah Palin who asked for Bashir to be fired and now thinks Phil should be exempt for a similar gaffe.

Good for the goose is good for the gander.

Why is that so hard for you to see?

Steve • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Hey Honest Rob, I guess the millions of voices out there that called ‘bunk’ on your idea of ‘hate speech’. Phil spoke truth and the degenerates in Cali and NYC thought that us ‘Rednecks’ out here in flyover country would just once again stay quiet and ignore your usual blather. But, we decided not to, and these ‘consequences’ have been reversed. Organizations like GLAAD are about to start hearing more from us. Chik-fil-a is now our favorite fast food restaurant and they are breaking sales records. DD is now our favorite television show. Go ahead pinhead, try these ‘consequences’ against what normal people want, like, or say.

Murfthesurf • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I think YOU don’t get it. This is not a freedom of speech issue. No one disputes everyone has a right to freedom of speech. The right to PUNISH someone for exercising their freedom of speech does not exist. When someone does this, it is called bullying, as all progressive activists know. It is a method encouraged by Saul Alinsky in his book “Rules for Radicals.” GLAAD uses bullying constantly, as does Jesse Jackson, the Freedom from Religion organization, as well as virtually all left leaning people and organizations.

wri7913 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Honest Rob – One thing to note about this whole thing is that GQ, GLADD and A&E made statements that are not true. Phil did NOT equate Homosexuality with Besteality, he listed activities that the Bible consider as *SIN*. He even admitted that he himself has sinned with some of the activities listed. In other words, Phil has a damn good case for Defamation of Character against these three groups.

Also GLADD is not above using intimidation and threats of boycott to force people to back down. If that doesn’t work, they find a liberal court judge to assist with their intimidation tactics. In othe orders, they involve the Government to silence people from expressing their First Amendment Rights.

Do you really think if something like this were happening to a Gay person, there wouldn’t be holy hell to pay?

Cherry • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The network backing down will show they have no authority over their cast. They need to just cancel the show. what he said was enough of a reason to fire the guy, if this was a guy in retail, or behind a desk he’d be fired.

Sovereignty Soldier • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

@Cherry
How do you figure? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and when asked should not have to sugar coat it or flat out keep quiet about it! It just so happens a very large segment of the population agree with him! So sorry not everyone will go along with the attempted societal changes taking place today.
So if I work at a retail store and am not at work and someone asked me my opinion about homosexuality, you think I should either lie, sugar coat it, or lose my job because I reject the same thing God rejects?
You are not American or even about freedom! You’re an authoritarian who wants to control others even down to their thoughts!

Anonymous • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

1st things first:
Phil signed a contract with a Morals clause that also covers making the Network look bad.
Which he did, so he was suspended.
He exercised his right to free speech and so did A+E.
Those calling on A+E to end the suspension are actually trying to infringe on A+E’s free Speech.

Slippery slope, that.
So, yeah if you signed a contract with a morals clause then ran your mouth and thought that you could hide behind the Bible, you can’t.
(incidentally, where does the Bible say to denigrate gays, Blacks and Muslims? My Bible has no such clauses…)

Finally,
You have no clue what freedom of speech means based on your post.
At all.
Go look it up and then come back and we’ll try this again.

MikeC711 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You are absolutely right that the contract likely gives A&E 100% ability to do exactly what they did. If Lebron James made a comment that the Miami Heat organization found offensive … they likely have the right to fire him as well. They’d likely not do it though for fear of audience blow back. The way it all breaks down:

Phil exercised freedom of speech (which may come w/consequences)
A&E exercised a right in their contract (which may come w/consequences)
A&E’s newly found viewership (I believe DD is well over 1/2 of their ratings) is exercising their right to show their dis-pleasure and this could cost A&E quite large.

A&E had every right to do what they did just like I have every right to cut off my arm at the shoulder … but in my case, and in A&E’s case … it would be an ill advised action to take.

Sean • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

How do you suspend someone citing a morals clause when all he did was speak about his Christian morals? A&E didn’t look bad until A&E showed its morals. So they violated their own morals clause.

Phil had a clause which stipulated that if A & E did the slightest amount of meddling, they were history. A&E was bleeping their grace at dinner.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Not True.

Phil had no such clause, Robertsons asked them to stop the bleeping, A+E agreed in certain instances only.

Network holds the right to the approve edit, never talent. Not even Kardashians or Sarah Palin got approval of edit.

Dan Bowers • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

When did he denigrate gays, blacks and muslims? He didn’t. Please show a quote where he did or admit you are a liar with an agenda.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Go read the GQ interview.
It’s plain as day.

Debra • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“Morals clause” – that’s rich!

MelE1972 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Funny how you seem to know exactly what was in the Robertson’s contract with A&E. Based on what I know about the Robertsons (which is from the show and from research) they would’ve never signed a contract that would have prevented them from discussing their faith on or off the show. A&E did exactly what others have done — back down from a small group of hate filled militant GLAAD and LGBT members before anyone could protest. Well, they got what they asked for……the silent majority isn’t silent anymore. This is suppression of religious freedom at its finest. He didn’t denigrate or humiliate anyone and if you say he did you didn’t read his words in their entirety. Typical liberal response though……….

Anonymous • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

1st things first:
Phil signed a contract with a morals / Defamation clause and his words violated his contract. Therefore, A+E exercised their freedom of speech and suspended him as they were legally allowed to do.

His freedom of speech was not violated in any way. He stated his opinion, and A+E and half of America disagreed and stated theirs. Half of America agreed and stated theirs. That’s it.

But just because you have an opinion DOES NOT mean it has to be respected at all, especially if others have a DIFFERENT opinion. Opinions are like noses, everyone has one. It doesn’t mean that YOUR opinion is more valid than mine or hers – OR the other way around.

Remember, freedom of speech is NOT freedom of consequence speech. Hate Speech is still hate speech whether you believe the Bible says so or not (as a former Altar boy, I’ll say confidently it doesn’t say that).

After all, where did God say it was okay to denigrate Gays, Blacks and Muslims? My personal Bible contains NO such clause.
But it does contain “Do unto others”….

And finally, you attacked someone for their opinion and then said THEY were trying to control others.
Pot? Meet kettle.

james • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

So, I assume you would be OK if you made public pro-gay statements and your boss fired you for that……. Well, kettle?

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Had I signed a contract with a Morals Clause like Phil knowingly did, yes I could be suspended/fired for them.
Absolutely, that is how the law works.
get it now?

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Sorry, read your question too quick before I responded.

No.
Being PRO- anything doesn’t mean it is anti anything else.

So, no being Pro Gay is not a violation of a morals clause.
Nor is being Pro Christian.

it’s when you start attacking others that you should get suspended/fired for violating a morals clause no matter why you claim to be doing it. Hate speech is hate speech, no matter your excuse or source.

Mallory Williams • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Go to the head of the class. I so love the comments from people who whine about freedom of speech being abused, then turn right around and try to do the same to others.

For every action there is a reaction. Mr. Robinson knew what he was doing and didn’t filter his comments at all. Therefore, he should man up and accept the consequences for them.

Jack • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Uhhh, I think that is exactly what Phil Robertson is doing, accepting the consequences of his statements, like a man, and like his family is doing as a consequence of what A&E did. The Robertsons are intact and strong. A&E immediately and reflexively reacted to the PC police and ended up cutting off their nose! I can imagine how the A&E execs mulled over what a “reasonable” suspension should be to appease the professionally offended class, then be shocked to find that wasn’t going to matter one iota. All along the A&E execs thought America was laughing with them at the Robertsons but irony of ironies we were laughing with the Robertsons and now we are at the A&E knuckeheads.

gessiewtf • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

He doesn’t give a rat’s patoot what anybody thinks about what he said in a GQ interview. He has been making the same speeches for years. They knew exactly who he was when they hired him.

nick hronis • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Have you seen his contract? I doubt there was a Moral/Defamation clause in it. DD is a “reality-documentary” program, and Phil Robertson was hired to be Phil Robertson. What exactly was the “Moral Turpitude” that was committed? As for the defamation, A&E most likely carries an E&O insurance policy that protects it from defamation claims on its programming, and who exactly did he defame?

The suspension by A&E is unsustainable on these grounds, and the Roberstons could consider it a breach of contract by A&E. You can’t hire a person to be themselves on a reality documentary program and then suspend them for being themselves.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I am quite familiar with the standard base reality contract as well as the kind of contracts the DD folks had to sign. Networks like A+E have standard templates that CANNOT be altered for insurance purposes, and the morality/defamation clauses are among them. Don’t sign, don’t be on the show.

There are NO reality folks who get away without having that in their contract, not the Kardashians, Not the Housewives, Not Lindsay Lohan, Not Sarah Palin. You sign a basic deal, and the rest is negotiable.

Further, DD – like all reality – is scripted. If you do not believe that then i don’t know how to explain how the rest of the business works. They set up certain situations and then have them say certain things. that’ why so many things they say seem so stilted and awkward. They have said them multiple times and are terrible actors, but it’s good enough. Hell, my mom thinks everything on TRUTV is real, but it’s all scripted, my brother writes on 2 “reality” shows there.

Phil was warned previously by the Network it has been reported, so he willingly went against their wishes. His bad and he will deal with the consequences as will A=E. (if this was real and not a PR stunt in the first place…)

That is a fact, take it to the bank

wri7913 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“You can’t hire a person to be themselves on a reality documentary program and then suspend them for being themselves.”

Bingo!

Not only this, but GQ, GLADD and A&E are making themselves ripe for a Defamation of Character lawsuit by claiming that he made certain statements that were bigoted or racists, when nothing he said was like that. Making an untrue statement for some negative purpose and then suspending him for it will cost them big if he purused it in court.

Victoria • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Duck Dynasty is the most successful program in the history of cable television. If you think A & E is going to cancel the show, I have a bridge to sell you. Not only will they not cancel it , but tomorrow they are doing a Duck Dynasty marathon for 24 hours, featuring Phil Robertson.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

It is not the most successful show in the History of cable.
Jeez, Walking Dead destroys it.

Do you just lie to make your argument look better or is it a habit?

MikeC711 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

It is the most successful “nonScripted” show. It was a small oversight that does make a big difference in overall viewership. I think that the post was not a lie, but rather an oversight … but your personal attack hidden as a question was a good ploy.

Dean from Ohio • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Most successful *unscripted* show in Cable TV, except sports. And the Walking Dead did pull in about 5M more viewers that DD’s best. so Honest Rob’s right there.

Makes you wonder what is it about the attraction of fictional zombies that Americans want to spend so much free time watching drama shows about them. Americans are turning into 19th Century Victorians, I guess, what with the fascination of the undead. Funny, though, that Hollywood gets the vapors just as easily as any British subject of Victoria and Albert used to when the actual details of sex–both heterosexual and homosexual–are brought out into the light of public discourse.

Zombies can’t go off topic in interviews on their free time, so that’s a plus.

However honest Rob may be, I still prefer Honest Abe Lincoln for his perseverance and wisdom, like this: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Sounds like the Robertson clan is ahead of us all there.

wri7913 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Apocolyptic movies have always had a big draw. If you have ever read Joseph Campbell’s Power of the Myths, you would understand why shows like Walking Dead are extremely popular. They contain one of the oldest story elements around. Star Wars was hugely popular because George Lucas read books by Joseph Campbell and employed those mythic contents that everyone relates to. Guess what other book contains some of those “mythical” elements? The Bible. Read Campbell’s books sometime, you will enjoy it.

They can not cancel a show that provides a significant percentage of their income. His comments were not something I have ever seen anyone fired for and I worked at a major corporation (one of the oldest and largest) and fully half of all manager were Christians who believe exactly the same things that Phil said and they shared them at work.

james • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

So, I guess you would be OK with a network that fired anyone who made a pro-gay statement?

bobby • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

11.8 million people watch this show and only 210,000 people have signed this petition. that’s less that 2% of the show’s audience. Does that mean that close to 98% of the show’s audience doesn’t support this guy?

anecdotally – everyone I know who watches this show is laughing AT these people, not with them. Like all reality shows. I wonder if this petition means that 98% of the audience is doing the same?

Peter • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Bobby, bobby, bobby…nothing against your numbers, but seriously…this article is about one poll. See the FB page that has over 1.8mm people claiming they’ll boycott A&E until he’s reinstated (and that’s just one poll). Phil’s on FB page has over 2mm “likes”. Just because not everyone clicks on one poll doesn’t mean there isn’t a very strong anti-A&E push going on here.

Socraticsilliness • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“everyone I know who watches this show is laughing AT these people, not with them.”

You know some odd people. If I don’t care for a show, I turn the channel. But somehow, I don’t believe you’re being honest about knowing people who watch the show.

Barack Obama • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Well, we and the Missus enjoy watching the show. I like the strong family values on the show, and I feel safe knowing that our girls won’t be exposed to any bad stuff. There is one part during which I get a bit nervous watching when they say grace before meals. You know: when they pray in Jesus’s name. Sometimes I watch it on Air Force 1, too….as I relax from saving our country and world…and the oceans, of course. But I don’t laugh at them. I know that they like Mary Landrieu, just like I do. Merry Christmas, America!

Paige • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

@ bobbie

A few points: not everyone who supports the Robertsons will sign a petition, particularly if it’s on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter actually pulled the hashtag or whatever it is to support the Robertsons.

However, having done some marketing research and survey work in the past, getting a 5% response rate on a mailing is considered phenomenally good. I haven’t worked personally with online surveys, so I don’t know what the response percentage is for those. But when discussing an online survey in a meeting, a 1% response rate was exciting for the group involved.

Signing the petition was not the only means of response. People called A&E, called the show’s sponsors, sent emails, texts and employed various other methods to show their displeasure. I’ve also heard that A&E may soon be the recipient of numerous yellow rubber ducks and duck postcards. That’ll be interesting, for sure.

As for laughing at and laughing with…yeah, it was funny to watch Miss Kay and his daughter-in-law’s faces when he field dressed the wild pig. Yes, I laughed. And I don’t think any of the three people are stupid or ridiculous. If I ever find myself back in a Louisiana swamp, I hope the person standing next to me is Phil Robertson or one of his family. You and your friends can laugh at the Robertsons. As for me, I’ll laugh with them.

kady • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“everyone I know who watches this show is laughing AT these people, not with them.”

That would be your mother and your uncle only, I suppose.

Fact is that what you say is what A&E, living in their silly little urban bubble, expected. However, the show got loose in the other 90% of America, where people hunt, own guns, treasure family meals rather than the hippest new urban eatery, and go to Church. If you’re in one of those groups, you’re not laughing “AT” the Robertson’s at all.

So, what you post tells us a lot more about YOU than it does anything else; and it didn’t tell us anything good.

Elle • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Facebook has already posted well over one million likes for Duck Dynasty and against A&E. The show is the highest rating cable show in history and A&E’s stupidity threatens its own golden goose. The sponsors have stuck by the show and in one case, Cracker Barrel, declared it would stop carrying Duck Dynasty products, only to capitulate the very next day as a result of a massive negative response from their customers.

bobby • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I love people who claim the moral high-ground while they’re defending a guy for saying that Blacks were happier before the civil rights movement. If you really believe that — you’re terrible people.

Don • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

bobby, you are conflating co-occurance with causation. No one said the civil rights movement caused blacks to become unhappy. There have been some insightful comments on this thread (e.g., Sean — Tuesday December 24, 2013 @ 9:16pm PST) that could help you understand. Peace be with you, Don

bobby • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

???
no, no one said that, neither did I.

you guys love arguing against things that no one is saying. phil didn’t get canned for quoting scripture. he got canned for all the other ignorant hateful stuff he said.

hahahaha • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Everybody I know that read your comment is laughing at you.

mo • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I believe the people on this show ARE laughing AT themselves along with those watching them. The fact that aside from their religious principles (which are not really addressed until the end of each show), they do not take themselves seriously. If laughing at them somehow makes you somehow feign superiority, then the jokes on you and your “friends”.

Val Resnick • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

The news reports on this subject keep stating that A&E said this or A&E said that. I’d like to know specifically which individual or individuals at A&E made the decision to suspend Phil. I’d like them to stop sending out corporate spokesmen, step forward and take public responsibility for their decisions. Phil Robertson has said his piece, and he doesn’t appear to be ashamed to attach his name to what he said. Not so with the individuals at A&E. They appear to wish to remain anonymous and inaccessible. It comes across as cowardice.

TJ Miller • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“I’d like to know specifically which individual or individuals at A&E made the decision to suspend Phil.”

Good luck with that – no exec is gonna be dumb enough to put himself in those crosshairs.

James • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A “rookie mistake”? This “rookie mistake” mistake is only going to cause Duck Dynasty’s already huge ratings to become even more massive. Reality hits tend to crash and burn quickly and Duck Dynasty had already hit its peak and was trending down but now every conservative Christian in America will be watching when it returns.

Marco Vega • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Factchecker, you win! You’re the dick who disrupted what started out as a really decent thread, commented on by industry peers on an industry news site, with real debate about whether this is a staged PR event (I think it is), and you decide to get comfy and just vomit your ultra neo conservative opinion all over it. Thanks.

A&E, I think, and I also think this was done outside the purview of the Robertsons, pulled off a very successful pre-season PR stunt, far more successful than they even predicted.

Factchecker • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A&E understood Phil’s worldview from early on, yet clearly had no issues making enormous money off of him and his family over the last few years.

Now, all of a sudden….he’s toxic. Yes, Hollywood Hypocrites are two shoes that fit A&E.

Merry Christmas. NoW go COEXIST.

Factchecker • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Keep your vile name calling to yourself. I work in the biz friend and have a right to comment. A&E knew full well what Phil’s worldview was from day one. And they had no problem whatsoever making enormous corporate profits off of him and his family.

And now suddenly he’s toxic? That reeks of hypocrisy my friend. Absolutely is does.

Jane • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Last time I checked, everyone is free to comment on this site. It’s not just for *cough* snotty industry types.

When will you industry types realize that you need to gain the respect of the viewers you so desperately crave?

Out in the Country • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I see – you mean he stated his opinion, and ruined the whole discussion for you?

Oh, boo hoo.

Would you suspend him because he wasn’t keeping to the script for this blog?

Gee, that sounds familiar…oh I get it, your post is supposed to increase the readership of this blog, thus validating your theory at the same time. Brilliant.

Ghost • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

When the “execs cite a rookie mistake” to me that’s a codeword for someone with too much college and not enough common sense! It seems to me for the past 20+ years all too often they put someone in charge who has all kinds of MBAs, PhD’s and over-educated whatevers but most of them never actually worked a day in their entire life. Common sense is something that no college teaches you have to develop it over time especially when you run a business! I’m not saying college is bad you just have to sit down and think about it before you pull the trigger on something due to the damage that may follow. Had A&E use a little bit of common sense instead of a typical business degree knee-jerk reaction they probably could’ve avoided all this mess! Was what Phil Robertson said wrong? Possibly, it depends on your perception. Then again he is entitled to his opinion!

John • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

This show would immediately be picked up by another network. AE can only win this battle if they’ve planned this whole scheme from the start to bring more attention to Duck Dynasty.

Jesus • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Phil is a Christian. He forgives.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

No Gays, Blacks or Muslims, though. They are fair game it seems.

flip flop • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You know, publicly accusing people of things they haven’t done is called slander and you can be sued for such.

wri7913 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

“No Gays, Blacks or Muslims, though. They are fair game it seems.”

I’d love to see your citations for these comments he supposedly made. Please feel free to look them up and post here. You won’t find them.

Claiming to know it all while knowing nothing, hilarious!!

MelG1972 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

@HonestRob…….once again you prove you aren’t honest and you are clueless. He never said he didn’t forgive anyone. He said it wasn’t his place to judge — that’s GOD’s place. Maybe you should read (you can do that, right?) Phil’s actual comments before you make a bigger fool of yourself.

SATCHMOJAZZ • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

MY MY! SUCH AN HONOR TO BE AMONGST ALL YOU SOPHISTICATED PEOPLE FROM THE EAST, THE MEDIA, HOLLYWOOD ET AL!

EXCEPT . . . WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? DON’T YOU EVER WONDER WHY YOU’RE BRAND OF THINKING IS OUTNUMBERED BY 90% OF THE REAL PEOPLE?

I HOPE SOME DAY YOU CAN CLEAR YOUR MINDS AND LOOK FOR THE TRUTH!

YEAH PHIL ROBERTSON! MERRY CHRISTMAS! (NOT “HAPPY HOLIDAYS”)

Paul • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

This is the first article I’ve read that uses the F word multiple times. Not very classy, I don’t know why the writer didn’t use “Doesn’t give a flying Duck” instead of the F word, it would have shown class and humor, I guess he just said “Fuck it”. I would expect to be banned for using the F word in my comment but the writer of the article has shown me that it appears to be acceptable.
A great T shirt would be…
“Phil Robertson doesn’t give a FLYING DUCK if he’s fired, more time to hunt for Duck” Duck You A&E!

Harry Taft • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

JP – A minor point, the First Amendment’s protection is related to the individual and the government. So the government can not suppress dissent. A&E can take steps to remove Phil as an exercise of managerial discretion. I’ve posted elsewhere that I think this is all about pumping up interest in the new season. Kabuki Theater, if you know what I mean.

Harry Taft • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Paul is quite right about the writer’s use of the F word in the article. She is quoting speakers who are crude. If she just capitalizes the F, we’ll get it. Discourse of every persuasion today is tainted by the use of gutter slang. Many film plots today, use the word in excess, however, if removed, most of the dialogue of the film would vanish. A short tutorial on why people watch Duck Dynasty instead of thousands of movies?

S. Bednar • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Are you brain dead? Do you seriously think that the Federal Government hasn’t prosecuted individuals and companies for what they thought were violations of employees first amendment rights? If so, you’d better read some more law.

Mike • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Even if A & E apologizes to the Robertsons they’ll bail the network the first chance they get.
A & E is used to doing business with Hollywood and starry-eyed publicity types. The Robertsons are REAL people with character and who hold their religeous beliefs close. They are self made people who cannot be threatened by the network execs and the brass doesn’t know how to deal with them. Also, unlike show biz liberals, they don’t give a flip about what the homosexual SS has to say to or about them.
This is a win/win for the Robertsons…and a win for the next network that airs their show.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

They are contracted to be on A+E or stay off the air on competing networks for 5 FULL YEARS following show’s end. That’s standard reality contract template.

So, this will work out for both if this wasn’t a fake controversy to start with…

hahahaha • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

NCC’s are easily defeated in court. This one will be a slam-dunk. A&E will not successfully argue that they had to pull Phil for damaging their brand, when they turned right around and not only put him back on TV, but commented that they have 10 episodes featuring Phil in the can that they intend to air. This is proof that Phil was suspended for punitive reasons. They’re punishing him because they don’t agree with his religious beliefs, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. If this were to go to court, Phil Robertson would absolutely own A&E. A&E execs must have been pulled from “Intervention”.

Baratu Nikto • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Wow, Rob, you are quit the insider. In case you haven’t realized, these people aren’t the norm. Further, they are worth 400 million and that buys a lot of lawyering, not to mention there are lawyers out there just waiting to knock down some Hollywood clowns pro bono.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I am quite familiar with A+E’s (and other network’s) standard contract that is mandated by their corp lawyers and their Insurance companies. The base is Non- negotiable and is covered by separate arbitration that A+E chooses – not court.

yeah, it is pretty solid and they are in a good position.
Even if they choose to end the show, they own it and all the images they shot of the DD crew and would prevent them from returning for years. Win Win for A+E short term although they would have killed the golden goose.

Their contract is actually stronger than other networks in some ways with regard to their noncompete. they already beat two housewives and one of the Storage War guys from going elsewhere, they have precedent.

This is ironclad, no wiggle room.

besides all that, i suspect this is all a PR stunt, so it doesn’t matter. It will blow over in 2 or 3 weeks and that will be that with A=E laughing all the way to the bank.

Jehosophat • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

@HR – Maybe they do have that clause in their contract. Perhaps there are things that have been abrogated by A&E that can null and void the contract, also. It is not for you to say, unless you have read their contract.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Very True, seen the standard template but not their deal.

I suspect A+E is ironclad on this.
They are part or a 1Billion Dollar company. They are pretty careful and won’t lose on something like this. they’ve been down this road before, but true, who knows.

WhoCaresIfIdiotsBoycott • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A&E isn’t some small tiny cable network here, they are a huge corporation that has been successful for many years WITHOUT Duck Dynasty. Yes it’s the #1 show on cable and the #1 show on their network but the network doesn’t need the show to survive.

Cancel the show, pull repeats from your schedule, and don’t air the already produced 9 episodes (ensuring another network can’t air them). Will the idiots who watch Duck Dynasty be angry? Sure, but these “people” are not who any network should want to be watching their network anyway, and they are not going to watch any other shows on A&E anyways because Duck Dynasty is all these un-educated idiots are interested in. I know there are a few millions of them, and although surprising that a few hundred thousand of them managed to figure out how to use a computer to sign a petition, you don’t need them A&E.

ODoule • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Why? To appease ONE radical gay activist who intentionally took innocent statements out of context for an opportunity to smear a good man?

A&E screwed up, and they owe Phil a public apology. Period.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

ONE Gay Activist?

You are kidding, right?

I’m a practicing Christian and I find what Phil said to be exceptionally offensive and I think it has done more damage to the church than anything in recent memory except maybe jerry falwell’s blathering.

The Bible does not say to denigrate Gays, Blacks and Muslims. It doesn’t say to attack others’ lifestyles or religions. It says nothing about belittling racial equality.

My Pastor at mass this morning (and this past sunday) spoke out against Phil’s comments and was greeted by the entire congregation applauding.

The church does not bully, does not demand and should certainly not threaten. True Christians shouldn’t either.

A+E owes no one an apology. let alone the talent who violated the morals and defamatory clauses in his standard contract.
He spoke his mind, A+E spoke theirs.
THAT is freedom of speech.
Do you get it now?

hahahaha • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

So how did Phil attack, bully, demand or threaten anybody?

I don’t think you have seen the contract, and I don’t believe that true Christians would have a problem with anybody quoting 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “Honest Rob”. Does your church have altar boys? What do you mean by “the church”?

Bobby • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Corinthians says Blacks were happier under the Jim Crow laws? it equates homosexuality with Terrorism?

I don’t think so.

if he had stuck to scripture, or even paraphrasing scripture no one could have assailed him. he didn’t. he expounded. and he said stuff that was hateful and ignorant, and it offended sponsors.

james • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

if it is OK to fire him for making anti-gay statements some find offensive, would it be OK to fire someone who makes pro-gay statements, that some find offensive? I’m not in favor of restricting anyone’s right to express their opinions. Both are equally valid points of view, though I do not agree with either.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

No,
Pro gay is not Anti anything.

If someone made Anti-Christian statements, then yes.

otherwise your inference is false.

Jonsie • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You, sir, are Catholic. The people on this show and watching this show are not Catholic and pretty much consider the Catholic Church to be Unchristian and maybe positioned not so far from Satan himself. Whatever you think of them, they see you as not a practicing Christian, but instead a mislead member of a cult-like, sinful organization practicing something very far from Christianity. It all is a matter of faith and perspective.

derfallbright • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I’m curious, just where did you get a copy of Phili’s contract? I assume you have it since you are accusing him of having violated his contract.

Now I tend to agree with this article in terms of “what was A&E thinking!? What kind of people do they think read GQ magazine?

I think I recall reading that the Robertson family or A&E receives over 500 requests for media interviews a week …..who in the world did they turn down in favor of doing a GQ interview? Even a freshman level PR executive would not think there would be any benefit from doing an interview with A&E. If there are people to be fired at A&E…..you may end up with Phil and their most successful show ever, but if I were a shareholder I could assure you he would not be the only person fired.

I must give a tip of the hat to Cracker Barrel with the speed it took them to figure out exactly who their customers are and make a radical change of direction along with an apology.

Now does any of this mean that what Phil said was skillfully worded….absolutely not, but as the article pointed out Phil’s views were well documented…..A&E management only has themselves to blame.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I am familiar with A=E’s base contract which is non-negotiable and contains morals clauses.

everett • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

i bet you dont know what verse he was referencing in the bible.

Bob12118214 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I’m a practicing Christian…”

Rob, I think maybe you need more practice.

Anonymous • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You have got to be kidding, Rob, right?

It appears you are either ignorant of what the entire GQ article said, and what PRobertson said during the interview…OR, you are willfully taking what he really said out of context and are spreading mistruths all around. Not once in what he said did he mention anything that had to even vaguely do with race, so leave your ‘race’ baiting comments out of the discussion to even be halfway close to reality. Otherwise we’ll just have to put you in the Willfully Ignorant and Intolerant pigeonhole and completely ignore you.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You are kidding, right?
Did you even read it?
The whole “they weren’t unhappy picking cotton” section?

bobby • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

you should read the article. Phil wasn’t fired for quoting scripture. no way. he was fired for all the other bigotted stuff that he said.

Duck Dynasty appeals to a unique group of idiots who do not watch the rest of the programming on A&E networks and other A&E owned channels. A&E knew the Duck Dynasty fans were idiot rednecks who could care less about anti-gay comments, but the rest of their viewers are not, and this decision was made to please them. It’s not going to be the end of the world if A&E loses these idiots as viewers. Plus, not all religious families are anti-gay, not even all redneck religious families are anti-gay. I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to find a redneck Christian pro-gay family (like TLC found with Honey Boo Boo) that would appeal to the Duck Dynasty audience while at the same time not upsetting the audience who watches the rest of A&E and A&E Networks programming. Unless the Duck Dynasty audience is so homophobic they will only watch programming that spews their anti-gay hatred?

By the way, I expected these type of responses. Most of these “people” have probably never even watched Duck Dynasty but are defending the show because they are homophobic and are seizing the opportunity to defend anyone who says anything anti-gay. It’s always funny to see them play the “free speech” card like being anti-gay is an acceptable opinion. It’s no different than being anti-black or anti-Hispanic (and i’m sure most of these Duck Dynasty fans are also racist as well). Since you guys hate “political correctness”, you shouldn’t get so angry when someone states the fact about how most of the people who watch Duck Dynasty are idiots.

zc • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

So this person apparently thinks he writes prose like George Bernard Shaw. Berating people he assumes are not smart as he is because they disagree with him on MSM? There may be people writing in a way calling people inappropriate things on the pro Phil side but many more do so on the smaller anti Phil side. You are right I will not watch Bad Ink, the show of Women Rodeo riders and anything else on A&E.and I may be smarter than a few of those that do with my two University degrees, not like you who has already deemed them highly intelligent.

Mj • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

You think A&E actually distinguishes what kind of people they want watching their network? I mean, aside from the kind of people that attract paying advertisers? They are not a social club. They are a business endeavoring to make money.

Ben • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A&E isn’t a corporation. It is wholly owned by Hearst and Disney, so it’s hard to learn A&E’s market cap. The DD people, however, reportedly have a net worth of $400MM, so they might be worth more than A&E. You don’t see Phil rendering a phony apology, or claiming to have been misquoted, or running off to Malibu for a weekend rehab.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A+E’s network is part of a Billion dollar company that is then owned by Disney + Hearst.
They own 75% of all merchandise that is DD related.

They have no worries if they decide to cancel, they can still milk them for years with footage they have shot and not aired.

ragstoriches • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

As one of the ‘uneducated idiots’ you reference, I stand in awe of your great wisdom and knowledge. I shall be sure to bow down when you pass by. A&E seemed elated at their ratings garnered by D Dynasty. How much education would you require that the masses possess before watching the fare on A&E? I have a college degree, (SO DOES PHIL ROBERTSON). Much of what I see proffered by this network is in a class I call “Inane Drivel”. D Dynasty doesn’t fit that category for me as I find it’s homespun humor refreshing. Most of the people I know don’t laugh AT them but With them. If you want serious TV and a higher level of thought, you’ll have to find another network.

Art • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

It’s really amazing to me how un educated these folks are…

Phil graduated from Louisiana Tech with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education and later received a Masters of Arts degree in Education via night classes while working as a schoolteacher.

Willie Jess Robertson, the CEO of Duck Commander. He has a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance with an emphasis on business from University of Louisiana at Monroe,[13] and has taken Duck Commander from a family business to a multimillion-dollar empire.

Korie Robertson is Willie’s wife and business partner. She graduated from Harding University.

And as for the rest of us un-edumacated idiots…we can start with degree’s, successful business’s, multi-billion dollar operations and corporations….but then again, we aren’t as smart as those who “really” know whats going on. Sorry we aren’t as smart as you.

But as a very humble and great man once said: “Better to keep your mouth shut and thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.”

But then again, Mr Lincoln was just a guy from the sticks.

Okay I wrote this…. wonder what this button does….

adam • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Yes, even though this will cause some short-term damage, A&E has been around for 30 years. It’s not like they were created solely to promote one show.

Duck Dynasty will run its course- as all reality tv shows do- then A&E will move on to something else. I agree none of this has been handled very well, but it’s silly to think viewer backlash over one show will be enough to bring them down.

Vaughn Leland • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

EXACTLY! It’s not as if the Duck Dynasty fanatics are the same ones that watch Bates Motel.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Exactly, Adam. Add to the fact that they are reaping a reported 75% of every dollar of DD merchandise, they can milk them for many years and not worry about it airing a new episode.

Icareif idiots comment • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Wow, do you have your head up somewhere or what? With comments like these “people” and un-educated idiots, you really have a large opinion of yourself don’t you? Sorry we aren’t all “high-minded” and “elitist” as you think you are. It must be horrible going through life thinking you are so much better than everyone else.

Brian • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A & E needs the Robertson’s a lot more than they need A & E.

And where were all the protests when A & E had the Gotti family on?

hamhock • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

officially the most long winded, lack of common sense and illogical deadline comment…in like forever

Out in the Country • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Ahh, the old insult others to make myself look smart ploy. Common with the liberal crowd. Are you saying that people like me are stupid and uneducated? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Hardly. In fact, in my interactions with your kind, I find that individuals like you swell the ranks of the emotional, weak minded set. But, I digress. Perhaps you have some merit. Let’s see.

You are suggesting that A&E dump a cash cow just because the audience isn’t up to your level of “sophistication” (I put that in quotes very intentionally, btw).

That translates to suggesting that they throw away millions of easy money, miss internal financial goals and shareholder expectations, and thereby not get bonuses and possibly get their C-levels fired in the process just because you don’t like their audience. Brilliant! Just brilliant! Your idea sparkles with brilliance – so much so that I’d be blinded by it – if the goal is to lose easy money.

But, alas, A&E is in business to MAKE money, not LOSE it. Oopsie!! Minor strategic flaw there! Just as an FYI – These types of shows are made to be milked until the very last moment, and certainly not made to be thrown out when they’re still #1.

Perhaps in the future you should avoid advertising your “intelligence” in such an obviously “brilliant” manner.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I would wager that you fashion yourself to be one who is “in touch”. I laugh at that prospect.

MikeC711 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

My understanding is that DD is worth well over 50% of A&E’s total revenue and it was one of their first shows that appeals to a totally different market segment. Their other programming where they have the difficult task of cramming 30 minutes of very interesting information into a 3.5 hour window is not bringing in the $s. Yes, they are a big corp and they will survive the DD loss if it happens … but they will go back to a small fringe network like they were before DD … maybe worse. There will be mass layoffs et al and that means a lot more people hitting ACA and needing those taxPayer subsidies.

Honest Rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

HA!
A+E is part of AETV networks, a Billion Dollar company BEFORE Duck Dynasty ever existed.

Wow, that is one laughable lie you constructed up there, all the way to the ACA, no less!

You forget they own a reported 75% minimum of ALL DD merchandise, they can cancel tomorrow and milk this cash cow for years till it’s dry.

If they didn’t have such Emmy nominated fare like Bates motel, etc, then maybe your lie would start to make sense, HA no, it still wouldn’t.

DonK • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

I guess as an an upscale urban family man with $200K of family income a year and 35+ years in the media, I’m not the “type of person who should be watching DD, eh? These folks are God-loving Americans who’ve become multi-millionaires who have the money and juice to tell A&E to shove it if they so choose. They’re real — and they’re fun. Someone at A&E obviously thought they were rubes and got a rude awakening. Millions of Americans relate to the Robertsons and like them enough to tune in each week. I’m happy to be one of them.

ct236 • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Me too.

Professor Watson • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Not being from the southern culture, I can not relate to them. I tried, I watched the show several times. But they make money for A&E and can say anything that will make money for the shareholders, which apparently they did (their handlers knew what they were doing) and their manager, perhaps, did not handle the situation well. No bonus for the manager? But wait, isn’t this publicity good. I bet that everybody(Robinsons and A&E) will end up laughing all the way to the bank. Brilliant A&E.

rob • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Arts and Entertainment – whatever happened to that ?

Brian • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

Whatever happened to intelligence? Do you not know the meaning of “Entertainment”? Need a dictionary?
You are a perfect example of America’s problem, ignorant and arrogant.
God help us.

BTW genius, what you consider “art”, someone else may consider trash. What someone else considers “entertainment”, you may consider boring. Evidently, there are a lot of people who consider DD to be entertaining.

Socraticsilliness • on Dec 27, 2013 6:26 pm

A&E played it incredibly stupid from the beginning. This is their top rated show and you’re going to mess with it? Really? A simple statement of: The opinions are their own, not ours. If gays still want to get their panties in a bunch, suggest they watch something else. There are 6,000 other channels to watch, and we don’t have to have one Orwellian mind set in this country. Allegedly, this is a free country with great diversity in beliefs….